Wagner's Parsifal: a beginner's guide

Get to know Wagner's musical search for the Holy Grail with our synopsis of the 1882 opera, and pictures from the recent production at the Metropolitan Opera, starring Katarina Dalayman, Jonas Kaufmann, Peter Mattei, Evgeny Nikitin and René Pape.

The curtain rises

The curtain rises in a forest near the castle of the brotherhood of the Holy Grail. Gurnemanz, an old knight, and two esquires perform their morning prayers, as the other knights prepare a bath for Amfortas, who suffers from an incurable wound. Picture: Peter Mattei as Amfortas, Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.